Photo courtesy of Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office A firefighter rescues a cat from a downstairs apartment of a structure fire in Amheek Thursday night.

AHMEEK — The Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Michigan State Fire Marshall, is investigating the cause of a fatal structure fire that occurred Thursday night in the village of Ahmeek, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.

At approximately 8:11 p.m., the Ahmeek Village Fire Department was dispatched to the blaze, which occurred on Senter Street.

While deputies were successful in locating and assisting two tenants safely from the building, three cats were also rescued from a downstairs apartment.

The owner of the apartment building, who lived in an upstairs unit, however, was found deceased inside.

“Beyond that,” said Sgt. Brad Pella of the Sheriff’s Office said, “we don’t know anything, but it is under investigation.”

Deputy Matthew Eberly, Trails Division, Snowmobile/ORV with the Sheriff’s Office, added that whenever a fire of suspicious or unknown origin occurs, the Fire Chief of the department will request the assistance of the state fire marshall.

Although multiple agencies assisted in fighting the fire, they were not named in the release. Names are not being released at this time, pending notification of next of kin.